Cod Fishing: On the Decline? or Rebound?

The current state of the Cod population in New England is up for debate. Scientists say the population is down 80 percent from where it was just decades ago, while fishermen claim that it is back to it’s former glory, with good catch numbers coming in from many different boats.

Why the discrepancy?

Some fishermen propose that the scientists are trawling in the wrong areas. They are looking for the fish in places they no longer occupy. They suggest that the scientists take a closer look at where the fishermen are targeting cod, and make their assessments based on those areas.

The scientists aren’t as convinced. They claim that they see few to no juvenile fish left in the population, which gives warning to a population crash in the future. Scientists have also concluded that the reason fishermen are finding these high numbers of fish is simple. Cod tend to confine themselves to a small area when they are stressed, and when their population is low. They feel that the fish are all “balled up” and the fishermen are having an easy time locating them and catching large quantities of them.